CURIOUS PATTERN IN ASSAM POLICE FIRING ON CRIMINALS

THE image of Assam's BJP-led government was dented after the recent rap by the Supreme Court on the alarming number of police encounters in the state.

- PRASANTA MAZUMDAR

A whopping 171 cases were recorded in the first 15 months in which 56 people, including alleged militants, were killed and 139 others were wounded. A number of the cases involved individuals from a certain community It all began after Himanta Biswa Sarma took up the chief minister's mantle on May 10, 2021. People noticed a pattern when detenues murder, rape accused, alleged drug dealers, cattle smugglers etc, were increasingly shot at on their legs and injured by the police. The police explanation invariably was that they had to open fire as the persons were attempting to flee, sometimes after snatching guns of the personnel.

Political furore

The increasing number of the incidents had whipped up a political furore with the Congress alleging that the police turned "trigger-happy" under the Sarma-led government. The party feared that Assam would soon turn into a police state. Other opposition parties viewed the incidents as "open killings", alleging that petty criminals were "silenced" to protect their bosses running illegal syndicates. Almost all opposi tion parties questioned how these detenues could snatch rifles from trained police personnel.

In July 2021, Sarma justified the series of encounters. He had stated that shooting at criminals "should be the pattern" if they attempt to escape from custody or try to snatch guns from the police to fire at them. He also stated that the attacks on police personnel would be retaliated, adding "extreme steps" as per the law would be taken to stop such criminals. Speaking in the Assembly, the CM had appealed to all legislators to send a message that the House is against any form of crime. He congratulated the Assam police force but asked it to not torture innocent people. "You have full operational liberty as long as you fight the criminals as per the law," he had stated.

Controversial incidents